Duke Basketball: Blue Devils Need Strong Finish from Austin Rivers

If you look at Austin Rivers' performance this season without any sort of context, he's had an outstanding year. He's averaging more minutes per game than any other Duke player, and he leads the team with an average of 14.4 points per game.

But let's face it, you just can't look at Rivers' performance without any kind of context. We view him as a player who is supposed to be one of the very best players in the nation, and he hasn't been.

It doesn't help that Rivers was in a funk for a little while there. In a span of five games between New Year's Day and Jan. 15, Rivers shot 16-of-44, a 36 percent clip. Duke lost one of those games, and wasn't sharp in a couple others.

On the bright side, things are looking up for Rivers. Mike Krzyzewski benched Rivers at the start of last week's game against Wake Forest, and Rivers told FoxSportsCarolinas.com that his benching motivated him in a big way.

"I was so angry," he said. "I came to practice the next day and I was blocking people's shots and talking trash and getting in fights with people."

Rivers also said that Coach K's decision to bench him got him "going again."

No kidding. Rivers came off the bench against Wake Forest to score 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 32 minutes. The Blue Devils lost their next game to Florida State, but Rivers started again and scored 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting. It is also worth noting that he made the game-tying basket moments before Michael Snaer won it with a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Two games may be too small a sample size, but it seems like Rivers is coming around.

If so, good. Now all he needs to do is keep it up for the rest of the season.

Duke started the season just fine, but losses in two of its last six games have made one thing abundantly clear: This Blue Devils team is far from invincible. It's good, but just short of great.

The Blue Devils don't have to worry too much about compromising their long-term goals, as they will be a threat to win the ACC Tournament when it rolls around, and they have enough talent to make a run through the NCAA Tournament when it comes calling. The rest of the regular season is a mere formality, with a couple high-profile games against North Carolina mixed in.

But it's still important for Rivers to finish strong. The pressure is only going to increase as he and the Blue Devils get closer and closer to the end of the season, and he needs to take it and use it. If he plays his best basketball down the stretch, the Blue Devils will be even scarier heading into postseason festivities.

This is because they'll be more than just a good team. They'll be a good team with a star player who is playing like a star. In a pinch, they'll be able to rally around Rivers.

Duke doesn't quite know if it can do that yet. The Blue Devils know Rivers could be a great player, but they don't know if he is a great player.

The time is now for him to prove that he is.